Of Fire and Scars
by The Corrupted Hobo Ninja
Summary: It is the third night of the routine when Sanji finally gets it.


**Uhh… Hi again, Corrupted Hobo Ninja here.**

**So, I finally got off my lazy ass and wrote something. I was hoping to write this in the holidays, but the fun of doing literally nothing hit me and well, inspiration also decided to go to Antarctica cause it was too hot in my house. This isn't the ten thousand word oneshot that I'm hoping to write one day, but it's something. **

**And as I previously mentioned in my other oneshot, do remember I'm not holding you at gunpoint to read this, so should you decide that you hate this for an idiotic reason such as you happen to hate One Piece, Why the fuck are you browsing for One Piece fics?!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, and if I did, it will be depressing and really dark…**

Of Fire and Scars

Sanji can't pinpoint exactly what made him wake up. He knows there is no enemy after a quick scan using Kenbunshoku Haki, and Nami-swan and Robin-swan aren't even awake to call for him. He lies in bed for a few more seconds before he hears a familiar sound. Luffy! The shitty captain is about to make another raid on the kitchen!

Sanji relaxes again, remembering the extra strong padded locks hanging on the fridge that Luffy doesn't know how to unlock. But something about Luffy's footsteps nags at him. They were heavier than usual, almost despondent, unlike the usual air of "I'm going to raid the fridge and Sanji won't catch me!" that Luffy normally has.

The cook groans silently, knowing that he won't get his sleep until he appeases his conscious. Swinging his legs out of the bed, he creeps across the room following the sound of Luffy's footsteps.

It is to Sanji's great surprise that Luffy veers away from the kitchen (he's also quite thankful because with the help of haki, Luffy can probably break the locks on the fridge). Instead Luffy walks towards the Captain's quarters that Luffy doesn't use / guest room that no one uses/ random room that no one quite remembers and enters it, carrying a candle that Sanji had no idea Luffy was even carrying.

Placing the candle on the table, Luffy lights it carefully and settles in the chair, eyes fixated on the flickering flame, He remains unaware of Sanji who is watching him curiously, half hidden by the shadows in the corridor.

When it became clear that Luffy had no intention of moving in the next hour or so, Sanji slips back to the cabin. He wonders though about the sudden change from raiding the kitchen to sitting alone in the Captain's room. There's also something with the candle that Sanji knows he's missed, but he dismisses it and eventually falls asleep.

* * *

In the next morning however, everything's the same, Luffy still needs to be bribed out of bed with the promise of breakfast and is still as irritatingly hyper as usual. Then night falls and Sanji is woken again by Luffy who still goes to the Captain's room and is back in his bed by early morning.

It is the third night of the routine when Sanji finally gets it. When he sees Luffy scratching his scar with the candle still there, Sanji has his revelation. The flame. Fire-Fist Ace. Suddenly the cook's glad that the Marimo wasn't with him when he made the connection, or Sanji would surely have been mocked for his slowness.

In the fourth night however, Sanji gets up earlier than Luffy and goes to the kitchen to prepare a late night snack. He walks into the room a few minutes after Luffy and places the food in between the candle and Luffy's unseeing eyes. Luffy jerks and stares up at Sanji in surprise at him being there and for willingly offering food to him. Sanji settles in one of the other chairs and waits patiently as Luffy glances at the food and swallows it whole before Sanji can take back his offer of free food.

"Well?" Sanji motions to him, "You want to talk about it?"

Sanji knows that Luffy knows full well what he's asking about, but it takes a while for Luffy to answer.

"He died, and I failed." Is Luffy's reply and he doesn't say anything else, and so can't Sanji, because really, what can you say to an answer like that?

It takes three more nights before Sanji gets the full story from Luffy, but he doesn't quite mind the lack of sleep when in exchange he's getting more insight on his captain. Throughout the entire time though, Luffy doesn't cry, and Sanji wonders whether it's because Luffy has no more tears or something else.

In the end, there is no sudden changes to Luffy's behaviour, no frequent large displays of affections that come out of nowhere and is directed to solely Sanji alone (but large displays of affection to the entire crew has been norm since the crew joined Luffy). Life goes on in the Straw Hat crew as per normal, but if Sanji is woken up in the middle of the night for a hot drink by a particularly lost looking Luffy he won't say no. Or if Luffy looks even more entranced by a flickering flame, Sanji knows the reason why.

It also probably helps that now Sanji knows something about the captain the Marimo probably doesn't which is an accomplishment in the cook's mind.

**Finished. Done. Accomplished. I finished my second oneshot/ drabble in the same year ! And it's even in the same manga! And don't forget, I no longer need to do this certain set of tests every second year!**

**Anyway, I'm just kind of excited cause I finally convinced my mother to buy me Trafalgar Law's hoodie (and hopefully the nodachi if I can fork over the money). Yeah… my parents aren't that happy about my interest *cough* obsession *cough* in manga and anime. Anyway, wish me luck when I try to persuade my parents to let me buy the nodachi!**

**Review, and please don't leave a message that is intended just to make me feel bad, because just in case you didn't know, there is a back button on the left side of the page which you can use to get out of here.**

**Ja ne!**

**The Corrupted Hobo Ninja.**


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